Day one recap: Trial of five men accused of rape, sexual assault and human trafficking

The case against five men accused of nearly 40 offences is being opened today at Warwick Crown Court.

Waqaar Khan, Kadeem Bourne, Marcus Woolcock, Kenan Kelly and Zahid Chaudhary will appear in the dock at the start of what could be a six-week trial.

The group are all from Coventry.

16:02

End of today's hearing

After a brief interlude for legal discussions, the court has risen for the day and Mr Smith QC will continue to open the case tomorrow morning.

15:41

"She collapsed into her father's arms"

After being dropped off in Longford, the girl walked to her father’s home and arrived there at around 5am, says Mr Smith.

“She collapsed in to her father’s arms and told him she had been raped. He rang the police.”

Mr Smith said that a doctor’s report showed that the youngster had suffered bruising and swelling to her neck, as well as bruising to her right arm, left leg and right buttock.

15:40

It happened all over again

The jury hears that the girl was told to get in to yet another car or “she would be beaten if she did not co-operate”.

She was joined in the car by Khan, Kelly, Bourne and Woolcock, and Mr Smith said it “happened all over again”.

Mr Smith said that Kelly, Bourne and then Khan all raped the 15-year-old before she was dropped off elsewhere, believed to be in Longford, at about 2.30am.

15:38

Knocked unconscious

The girl was driven somewhere by Bourne and Khan and, after trying to fight her way out of the car, was hit and knocked unconscious, said Mr Smith.

“When she woke up the men were in the front seats watching a video of a girl who was naked.

“She realised the video was of her having sex with the men while, to use her words, ‘conked out’.”

15:14

Threats of violence

“Once they arrived in Coventry, the girls got in to a car with Khan and Bourne,” said Mr Smith.

“The car was followed by another car containing Woolcock and Kelly. Bourne and Woolcock had been in text conversation before the girls arrived in Coventry.”

After arriving at some garages, the two girls were put in to different cars and the alleged victim was told she would be hit if she did not co-operate, Mr Smith added.

15:13

False name

Mr Smith says a fifth girl, again aged 15, was raped by Khan, Bourne and Kelly.

The teenager had met a friend in Nuneaton on April 3, 2016 - the friend had been messaging and chatting with someone called Rameez Bacc, a name that Mr Smith says Khan used when contacting people on Facebook.

The jury hears that Khan offered to pay for a taxi to take the girls from Nuneaton to Coventry, which the girls did and they were dropped off in Everdon Road.

14:52

Videos of the attack

Two videos of the alleged attack on the teenager have been shown to the jury.

Mr Smith says the videos were recovered from a phone belonging to Khan.

14:49

Raped in a car park

The alleged fourth victim, who again was 15, exchanged naked pictures with Khan via Facebook in the months before February 2016, Mr Smith said.

He added that in February she went to a house party and became very drunk and eventually spoke to Khan on Facebook who said he would come and pick her up.

Khan and Woolcock picked her up in the early hours and took her to a car park in Coventry where they raped her, the jury is told.

14:39

Trial resumes

The jury have now re-entered the courtroom and Andrew Smith QC is continuing his opening of the case.

13:34

Allegations “made up”

In police interviews, both Bourne and Woolcock denied any sexual activity with the girl, said Mr Smith.

Khan also stated that the allegations were “made up”.

The court has risen for lunch.

13:31

Claims that teen was raped after smoking cannabis

The jury also heard that the girl would meet with Woolcock and Khan, along with a friend of hers, and she would smoke cannabis and drink.

One night after her friend and Khan had left the car, she was asked repeatedly by Woolcock to perform a sexual act on him and eventually did so as she felt “significant pressure”, said Mr Smith.

On another occasion Woolcock raped her when she was “affected by drink and drugs”, the court heard.

13:15

"A bit of fun"

Bourne continued to message and “manipulate” the girl at later dates and raped her again on another occasion.

This coincided with the youngster telling Bourne that she did not want to have sex with him, and he replied “it’s a bit of fun - you know you love it”, according to Mr Smith.

He added that on a third occasion Bourne had forced the teen to perform a sex act on him.

13:06

Girl "forcibly raped" by Bourne, jurors told

The jury hears that the third victim was just 15 years old in September 2015 when she was contacted by Bourne via Facebook who asked her to meet him to smoke cannabis, Mr Smith said.

During their second meeting it is claimed that Bourne grabbed her over her clothes before she told him to stop. Two nights later they met again and Bourne forcibly raped the girl “despite her asking him to stop”, Mr Smith said.

12:46

"It was consensual"

When interviewed by police in regard to the alleged attack on the 17-year-old, Khan said sexual contact between them was consensual before answering ‘no comment’ to further questions, Mr Smith stated.

Bourne and Chaudhary both allegedly told cops they had only seen the girl on one occasion for a short time, while it’s claimed that Woolcock admitted to “fondling her” during a police interview.

12:43

Videos made of the attack

The girl was eventually dropped off by the defendants, but not before they had made obscene videos of her on a mobile phone belonging to Khan, Mr Smith said.

The jury have been shown some of the videos.

The prosecutor said that the teenager was with the four men for a total of around four hours on the evening of October 16 last year.

12:37

"You're not leaving"

The court also heard that after Woolcock had got out of the car, Chaudhary took his place and allegedly called the teenage girl a “bitch” before sexually assaulting her.

Mr Smith also stated that Chaudhary told the girl “you’re not leaving” before forcing her to perform a sexual act on him, “despite it being obvious through her tears that she was not consenting”.

12:23

Girl "succumbed to pressure through fear of the alternatives"

Mr Smith the girl was forced to perform a sex act on Khan in the car and “succumbed to the pressure through fear of the alternatives”.

Khan then drove her to another car park where he offered her drugs and they were joined by Woolcock, Bourne and Chaudhary, it is claimed.

Woolcock “aggressively” forced her to perform a sexual act on him in the back of the car “despite her protestations”, Mr Smith tells the jury.

12:15

"A change of plan"

A second alleged victim was 17 at the time she was attacked by four of the defendants, Mr Smith said.

She met Khan in a fast food restaurant and then shared contact with him via Facebook which included sharing intimate photos.

Mr Smith said that on October 16, 2015, the girl agreed to meet with Khan and go to his house, but instead he drove them to a car park and told her there was a “change of plan”.

After refusing to have sex in the car, Khan told her “You are here now, you have to”, Mr Smith said.

12:11

"No comment"

When a police investigation was launched and Khan was questioned he said the girl had consented to sex acts at the house, before then replying ‘no comment’ to further questions, Mr Smith said.

11:44

Escape bid

Mr Smith tells the court that the girl was then left in another room of the house along with two other men, while Khan left.

“Khan knew that the two men wanted to sexually assault the girl,” he added.

One of the men eventually offered her a lift home “if she did something for him in return”.

The girl tried to escape when it became clear to her that she was not going to given a lift home unless she performed a sex act on the driver of the car, stated Mr Smith.

He adds that she injured her hand in a phone box after getting out of the car, before two passers-by came to her aid.

11:32

Contacted on Facebook

One of the alleged victims was first contacted by Khan via Facebook in 2012 when she was either 14 or 15 years old, Mr Smith says.

Khan pressured her to meet on numerous occasions, but she refused over a long period of time. Eventually she agreed to meet in March 2015 after Khan had said they would be going to a party, said Mr Smith.

He added: “After driving around for about an hour they arrived at a house in Radford and Khan and the girl went to an upstairs room.”

“He asked her to perform a sexual act on him and she consistently refused.”

11:27

"Close ties"

Mr Smith QC tells the jury that all of the five men had “close ties of friendship” and added that Bourne and Kelly are also cousins.

He said that the five men had a “high degree of trust - a trust that they relied upon when carrying out group offending”.

11:24

Defendants "exploited the fragility of teenage girls"

Mr Smith says: “In the case of five of the young women the prosecution case is that they were then raped or seriously sexually abused, often in car parks and often by more than one defendant at a time.

“The defendants formed a close and loyal group that would act together with a shared expectation.

“The defendants - both individually and collectively - exploited the fragility of the teenage girls.”

11:14

Meet me in Coventry

Prosecutor Andrew Smith QC says: “Our case it that over a period of little more than a year six separate teenage girls were persuaded by Waqaar Khan through Facebook to meet him in Coventry.

“On each occasion he ensured they were collected by car and the true purpose of his arranging these meetings was for sexual exploitation.”

11:02

The defendants

The five accused men are now in the dock before the case against them is outlined by the prosecution.

10:55

Jury enter the courtroom

The 12 men and women charged with deciding on the fate of the five Coventry men have now entered the courtroom here in Leamington.

10:55

Representation

The case is being prosecuted by Andrew Smith QC, while each of the defendants has individual representation.

They are: David Jackson for Khan; Tim Sapwell for Bourne; Peter Cooper for Woolcock; Graeme Simpson for Kelly; and Zahir Afzal for Chaudhary.

Overseeing the case is Judge Sylvia de Bertodano.

10:45

The charges

Khan, 24, is accused of 11 counts of rape and six of human trafficking.

Bourne, 23, faces seven counts of rape, one of sexual assault and two of human trafficking.

Woolcock, 22, is accused of six counts of rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and four counts of human trafficking.

Kelly, 18, faces two counts of rape, one of sexual assault and two counts of human trafficking.

Chaudhary, 20, is accused of one count of rape, one of sexual assault and one count of human trafficking.

They all deny the charges against them.

10:44

Trial could last for six weeks

A jury is set to hear the alleged crimes carried out by five men from Coventry which include rape and human trafficking.

The men - Waqaar Khan, Kadeem Bourne, Marcus Woolcock, Kenan Kelly and Zahid Chaudhary - face a total of nearly 40 offences which relate to six victims.

The trial is getting underway at Warwick Crown Court and could last for as long as six weeks.

The case against the men will be opened by prosecutor Andrew Smith QC.